By Martin Jumbam
The Universal Church celebrates Sunday, January 12, 2014, as the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord. This feast concludes the Christmas cycle and is at the same time the First Sunday of Ordinary Time in Liturgical Year A. This Sunday begins a series of Sundays that speak of the early ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus, who had no sins, still received baptism as a way of consecrating him for his mission on earth. In the Gospel, Saint Matthew is the most explicit of all the evangelists in stating that Jesus came to John to be baptized. He shows the heavens opening, the Spirit descending on Christ in the form of a dove, and the Father’s voice from heaven acclaiming him as his beloved Son with whom he is well pleased. This echoes the first reading, where some 700 years before Christ, Isaiah had announced to the people the coming of the chosen one on whom the Spirit of God would rest. Fortified by God’s Spirit, this servant of God would bring salvation to the nations. This prophecy was to find fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, son of David, the servant was to bring true peace and justice to all men and women of good will. In the second reading, from Acts of the Apostles, we hear Peter’s last discourse to the Gentile world in which he describes Jesus’ baptism as God’s way of anointing him with the Holy Spirit and with power. In the course of this Eucharist, let us pray for the grace to renew our own baptismal vows so we can follow Christ more closely as he begins his public ministry on earth.
First Reading: Isaiah 42: 1-4. 6-7.
Thus says the Lord: Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not fail or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the islands wait for his law. “I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
Our first reading is taken from the section of Second Isaiah generally called the “Book of Consolation of Israel”. It proclaims divine salvation and the restoration of Zion after the return of the exiles from Babylon. The passage for our meditation is the first of the four songs of the Servant of the Lord. The Lord, who has shown his power by creating the world, now shows his determination to save man, his creature, by giving a special mission to the servant of the Lord, who will reveal to mankind God’s saving plan. This servant, whom the Lord formed from his mother’s womb (Is 49: 1), is full of humility and will establish justice and peace on earth. He will be a light to the nations and will open the eyes that are blind and set captives free.
How will the servant be able to do all these things? The Lord will put his Spirit on him. He is someone chosen by God, and has the help of the Spirit of the Lord to carry out his mission to teach God’s Law to the ends of the earth. He will bear witness to God before all mankind.
The Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles interpret this servant as being the prophecy about Jesus, in whom the Father is most pleased, as Matthew tells us in the Gospel of this day. In the unity of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is truly the light for all nations and the liberator of all the oppressed. As mentioned earlier, Matthew is particularly explicit in showing that the Scriptures find fulfillment in Jesus by quoting this Oracle of Isaiah (42: 2-4) to show that Jesus is fulfilled in the prophecy of the servant, who was rejected by the leaders of the people but whose quiet and gentle ways bring the light of truth to the world (Mt 12: 15-21).
Even the expression “light to the nations” finds echo in what Jesus himself says about his being the “light of the world” (Jn 8:12). At the Second Vatican Council, the Fathers of the Church said that “Christ is the Light of the nations. Because this is so, this Sacred Synod gathered together in the Holy Spirit eagerly desires, by proclaiming the Gospel to every creature, to bring the light of Christ to all men, a light brightly visible on the countenance of the Church” (Lumen gentium, 1).
What does this passage tell me as a Christian living in the city of Douala today? It tells me that a true servant of the Lord is he or she who brings true justice and peace, not through physical violence, but through gentle and peaceful ways. We therefore pray to the Lord to make of us peacemakers wherever we may find ourselves this day. Amen.
Second Reading: Acts of the Apostles 10: 34-38.
In those days, Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the word which he sent was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
A short background of Acts of the Apostles is in order. It is the fifth Book of the New Testament, written between 70 and 90 AD by Saint Luke, who is also the author of the Gospel that bears his name. Acts is an account of the early preaching about Jesus Christ, the growth of the early Christian community, and the spread of the Christian message. It covers the period from the Ascension of Christ and the Pentecost, to the visit of Saint Paul to Rome, where he was placed under house arrest.
The early chapters of Acts draw a beautiful picture of the Christian community of Jerusalem as they pray together, practice common ownership of property, and preach together. The author attributes the vitality and activity of Christianity to the Holy Spirit, which plays a prominent part in Acts. Three of the key ideas that run throughout Acts are that Christ fulfills the promises made in the Old Testament, that salvation comes through him, and that the Christian community is the new chosen people.
The very composition of Acts focuses attention on the present, and on spreading Christianity “to the ends of the earth”. Thus, Acts is a fairly detailed account of early Christianity in its progress from Jerusalem to Rome.
The passage of our meditation is Peter’s short address to non-Jews at the home of a pagan, Cornelius, a Roman centurion. The conversion of Cornelius, who is regarded as the first pagan convert to Christianity, is one of the high points of the Acts of the Apostles. It is very important as it shows that the Gospel is addressed to all men and women, irrespective of race, tribe, ethnicity or religion. It also shows that the power of the Holy Spirit knows no boundaries.
Up until this point, the Gospel has only been preached to Jews. Our Lord himself had initially acted on the principle that the Gospel only had to be preached to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt 10:6).
By extending it to non-Jews, Peter clearly announces salvation to all mankind. Even though it is unlawful for him, as a Jew, to associate himself with non-Jews, Peter says that God has shown him that he should not call any man common or unclean (Acts 10: 28). He therefore tells them that God is impartial and wants all men and women to be saved through the proclamation of the Gospel.
Peter describes Jesus’ baptism by John as “God anointing Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power”. This enabled him to go about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil.
What message am I taking home from this reading? I see a compassionate and understanding God who opens the door of his heart to all men and women, good or bad. One’s race, tribe, ethnic group, social, economic, religious or political standing is totally irrelevant to him. This is a good lesson for us as we tend, even in Church, to associate only with those of our own kind; those from our village, or tribe, or social status. Our God is an impartial God, as Peter tells us.
Lord, change my heart of stone into a heart of flesh so I may have the courage to understand and forgive my brother or sister today, as forgiveness of each other’s trespasses is what you require of us, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gospel: Matthew 3: 13-17.
At that time, Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him; and behold, a voice from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
V/ The Gospel of the Lord.
R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Comment
We all wonder why Jesus Christ, Son of God, born without sin, had to be baptized. Surely he was full of the Spirit from the time he was conceived. Then why the necessity for his baptism? One of the reasons could be that although Jesus was without sin, he still wished to submit himself to the rite of baptism because it was required by Jewish law. As a man, Christ submitted himself to the laws of his people, the Jewish people. Saint Augustine says that “The Lord desired to be baptized so that he might freely proclaim through his humility what for us was to be a necessity” (Sermon 51, 33).
Through his baptism, Jesus identifies himself with men and women, like you and me, who are searching for God. Through his baptism he left for us the Sacrament of Christian Baptism. As he himself tells us, through the evangelist Matthew, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28: 13).
Just as Jesus’ baptism marked the inauguration of his public ministry, so our own baptism too makes of us missionaries to each other and brothers and sisters in the Church. We are no longer strangers to one another as baptism unites us in Christ. There is no isolated Christian. From the time of our baptism, each of us becomes part of a people, and the Church becomes one true family of God’s children. In baptism, God opens the heavens and sends us his Spirit, who takes possession of our souls, purifies them and makes them fitting dwellings for our Lord. At our baptism, God also says of us, as he says of Christ, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Like Christ, the Holy Spirit that descends on us also strengthens us for the mission God has for each of us.
Our baptism takes away our sins and makes us members of the Church of which Christ is the head. Baptism lets God enter our lives and live with us and sanctify us. Baptism cleanses us from the stain of the original sin and of any other sin we might have committed before our baptism.
Jesus gave us baptism as a means of purifying our human nature and freeing it from the affliction of sin. “Thanks to the Sacrament of Baptism,” Saint Leo the Great tells us, “you have been turned into a temple of the Holy Spirit. Don’t ever let it happen that you drive away so noble a guest by your evil deeds, or ever again submit to the power of the demon: for the price you were bought with is the blood of Christ” (Christmas Homily, 3).
As Jesus’ baptism marks the beginning of his divine ministry, so too our own baptism marks the beginning of a new life: that of love and service. Our baptism entrusts us with a mission: to continue Christ’s work of charity by going out of ourselves and living for others in love and service, as Christ did. As we celebrate Christ’s public ministry, we too look at our own beginnings. Just as the Holy Spirit anoints Christ for his prophetic mission, so too does the Holy Spirit, the great enabler, strengthen us for our own mission among our brothers and sisters and in our community.
Let us this day pray to the Holy Spirit to continue to guide us and protect us as we, in our different ways, carry God’s message of salvation to the world, beginning in our immediate families, then our parish communities, our society and humanity as a whole. We make our supplication through Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
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